
A SKETCH 



OF THE 



LIFE AND CHARACTER 



OF 



EDMUND DRAKE HALSEY 



BY THE 



Rev. THEODORE FRELIXGHUYSEN CHAMBERS. 



Read by request before tlie Historical Society of 
New Jersey, at Newark, May 19, 1! 



ANNO DOMINI 
EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND NINETY-EIGHT. 



1 



, 







otfa^c^drf/A 







A SKETCH 



OF THE 



LIFE AND CHARACTER 



OF — 



EDMUND DRAKE HALSEY 



BY THE 



Rev. THEODORE FRELINGHUYSEN CHAMBERS. 



Read by request before the Historical Society of 
New Jersey, at Newark, May 19, 1898. 



ANNO DOMINI 
EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND NINETY-EIGHT. 



' ' '•'.'' ,' . ■ 



CTrfS 



'0 1 



PIERSON & ROWELL, PRINTERS. 
MORRISTOWN, N. J. 



r 



SUMMARY OF EVENTS, 



Edmund Drake Halsey was born Sept. 11, 1840. His 
parents were Samuel Beach Halsey and Sarah Dubois Jack- 
son. He was fitted for college at Morristown Academy and 
at Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., and graduated from 
the latter institution in the class of 1857. In this same year 
he entered the Sophomore class of Nassau Hall and graduat- 
ed with the Philosophical Oration in 1860. He then entered 
upon the study of the Jaw at Morristown with his brother 
Samuel S. Halsey. 

In Aug., 1862, his reading of law was interrupted by his 
enlisting as a private in Co. K, 15 Regt. N. J. Vols. 

On Jan. 15, 1863, he was promoted Sergeant Major in 
place of John P. Fowler, who had been killed. In five 
months, June 19, 1863, he was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant, 
Co. F, and in one month, July 27, 1863, was promoted to be 
1st Lieutenant, Co. D. After another interval of a month, 
Aug. 12, 1863, he was mustered and detailed as Acting Ad- 
jutant and within a year after the first promotion from the 
ranks, on Jan. 1, 1864, he was commissioned 1st Lieutenant 
and Adjutant. For a year previous to his honorable dis- 
charge, on Jan. 1, to take effect Jan. 12, 1865, on account of 
continued ill health, he served almost continually as Judge 
Advocate of Courts Martial. He was in all the marches and 
engagements of his regiment for the two years and a half, in 
which he had no small part in its most eventful histoiy. 



On his return home he resumed the study of law and 
was admitted to the Bar in the November term 1865, as an 
attorney, and as counsellor in the February term 1869. From 
Sept. 18, 1867, to the day of his death, he was a trustee of 
Rockaway Pres. Church ; and for a number of years he was 
either a teacher in or superintendent (four years) of the Sab- 
bath School in the same church. From the time of its or- 
ganization in 1881 he was one of the trustees of the Morris 
County Children's Home. He was a life member of the New 
York and New Jersey Historical Societies, and secretary and 
afterwards treasurer of the Washington Association of N. J. 
He was a member of the Loyal Legion, a member of the So- 
ciety of the Army of the Potomac, and of the Grand Army 
of the Republic. In 1896 he joined the " New Jersey Society 
of the Order of the Founders and Patriots of America." As 
a practical engineer he took part in the work of commission 
which settled the boundary between New Jersey and New 
York. Since 1868 he had been a director and when he died 
was President of the National Iron Bank of Morristown. He 
was also a director of the Morristown Gas Light Co. and 
a manager of the Morris County Savings Bank. 

On May 27, 1869, he was married by Rev. J. S. B. Hod- 
ges, D.D., to Mary Halsey Darcy, daughter of Henry Gray 
and Anne Mackenzie Drake Darcy. Two children survive 
him: Edmund Drake Halsey, Jr., a graduate of Princeton 
College in 1894 and at present a Student at Law, and Cor- 
nelia Van Wyck Halsey, now studying at Bryn Mawr Col- 
lege. 



ANCESTRY AND EDUCATION. 



Edmund Drake Halsey was the youngest of a family of 
nine children, of whom all but two attained maturity. His an- 
cestry on both his father's aud mother's side deserve especial 
notice. He was in the eighth generation of descent from 
Thomas Halsey who came from London to Lynn, Mass., be- 
fore 1637. His mother, Sarah Dubois Jackson, was the 
seventh in descent from Robert Jackson who died at Hemp- 
stead, L. I., in 1685. They were in both cases of Puritan 
origin and manifested all those well-known traits which have 
made that strain in our national blood of such predominating 
influence in all departments of thought and action. 

Dr. Abraham Halsey, his grandfather and a resident 
of Hopewell, Orange Co., 1ST. Y., was not only a well-edu- 
cated man and a physician of extensive and successful prac- 
tice, but he was also a man of affairs, public spirited and en- 
terprising. 

His grandson says of him, (Halsey Genealogy, page 108) : 
" The character of Dr. Halsey was marked by traits of 
the most estimable kind. He was the ready patron of every 
enterprise for improving the condition of society around him. 
He very early got up a circulating library and kept it up by 
constant attention and frequent subscription. He gave to 
two of his three sons a collegiate education and would have 
given the same to the youngest had he at the time been dis- 
posed to accept it. He was very hospitable and entertained 
not only his friends and acquaintances, but as he lived in the 



path of the first emigration from New England westward, he 
often had large families resting themselves at his place and 
talking over their prospects and expectations, as well as their 
past history. He was the ever-ready patron of every young 
man who showed a disposition to rise above his surroundings, 
and many such had reason to thank him for his disinterested 
and substantial encouragement and aid. He was firm in his 
political opinions but never a candidate for political honors. 
He was a man of strict integrity and observant of all the 
laws of propriety of conduct, especially careful to keep the 
Sabbath and to require its observance in his family. He had 
many warm friends and no enemies." 

This grandfather on his father's side died in 1822. His 
son Samuel Beach Halsey, the father of the subject of 
this sketch, was born in 1796 and was a worthy son of such a 
sire. He graduated from Union College with the second 
honor and was a practitioner of the law in New York State 
until 1834, when he removed to Rockaway, N. J. His char- 
acter was a rare combination of scholarly tastes and love of 
reading, a thorough knowledge of business, a practical ac- 
quaintance with the politics of the day and a most devout and 
humble piety. His son Edmund has laid upon the altar of 
filial piety the following beautiful tribute to his memory, 
(Halsey Geneal., 204): 

' ' His educational and literary attainments were of a high 
order, and could only be measured by the large and liberal 
tastes of the true scholar. The material of his thought was 
wonderfully rich, and his ideas upon any subject, however 
intricate, were neither barren nor impoverished, but were at 
once as full and clear cut as they were brilliant. 

" But the crowning beaut)' of his life was his kind and 
beautiful character, whose generous impulses were as free and 
boundless as they were systematized; and therefore of the 
greater practical importance. His sympathies and interest in 
any good cause were large and generous, and if lie was not 
the proposer of a movement, he was always ready and will- 
ing to second it with his endorsement and materia] assistance. 
To what extent this was the case, one has only to recall his 
church connections for forty years to realize. 



" He was never idle a single waking hour when in health, 
and he could not endure the presence of an idler. He dis- 
charged financial trusts with conspicuous fidelity and ability. 
It would have been a positive torment to him to think that he 
had a dollar in his possession wrongfully. He was exceed- 
ingly conscientious, and suffered at times long and, to his 
friends, unaccountable, seasons of depression in view of sins 
of thought or deed which seemed to him heinous in the sight 
of his maker. Subscriptions for the support of the gospel 
and in aid of educational or other philanthropic causes were 
with him debts ; and all cases of doubt between himself and 
others he would decide against himself. He would rather 
frankly lose than doubtfully win." 

He was elected to the New York legislature in 1826, from 
Dutchess Co., when the balance of the ticket met with dis- 
astrous defeat. He was again elected to the same body in 
1830. 

After his removal to this state, he became a member of 
the New Jersey legislature in 1841 and was returned for the 
succeeding term, at which time he was elected without opposi- 
tion, Speaker of the Assembly. He was a Judge of the Court 
of Common Pleas and Superintendent of Schools of Morris 
County. For thirty years he served the Church of Rockaway 
as a ruling elder with pre-eminent usefulness and efficiency. 

Edmund Drake's mother, Sarah Dubois, the only 
daughter of Colonel Joseph Jackson, ' ' was the daughter of a 
gentleman of large business and social acquaintance, and re- 
lated on her mother's side to many of the most distinguished 
persons in the state, had been much courted and was greatly 
beloved." 

By his enterprise and business ability her father had built 
up a large business in the mining and manufacturing of iron. 
He successfully and profitably carried out contracts with the 
government. "Of indomitable will and perseverance, and 
with a decided military cast, systematic and thorough in his 
management and discipline, and of broad comprehensive 
views, associating with the prominent men of his day, he was 
ranked as without a superior as a business man." 

He was a member of the legislature ; was an elder and 



8 

the largest contributor in the Rockaway Presbyterian Church ; 
a man of godly walk and conversation and always responding 
to any appeal for his sympathy and help ; a man of quite un- 
usual natural and acquired intelligence. 

The home which such examples adorned was most favor- 
able to the development of culture and refinement. He who 
came under these influences the last was not the one who felt 
them the least. The youngest of the family partook of all its 
characteristics and exemplified its best traditions. 

The young Edmund seemed to imbibe the love of knowl- 
edge with the first nourishment of his physical life. Before 
he had fairly learned to speak correctty his mother tongue, 
he had acquired a fund of proverbs and other quotations 
with which he startled as well as vastly amused his farmh- 
and friends. His favorite author, whom he always managed 
to find time to read and from whose prolific pages he garner- 
ed a perfect harvest of appropriate sayings, which by a mar- 
vellous instinct he succeeded in using most aptly on various 
occasions, was Shakespeare. The droll gravity with which the 
precocious child would bring in his favorite adage or Shake- 
spearian excerpt added not a little to the delight of his hear- 
ers. The love of knowledge thus early acquired was sedu- 
lously fostered by his father. By the promise of receiving as 
a gift each book as he mastered it, he soon became owner of 
nearly all the volumes of his father's extensive collection of 
standard works. 

It is thus not surprising that when at the age of seven- 
teen he entered the Sophomore class of Princeton College he 
found himself at home only among the more studious and in- 
tellectual of his fellow students. Such is the testimony at 
least of one who knew him intimately. He writes, " I came 
very soon to know him better than I knew any of his class- 
mates except two or three. 

" He was tall and spare; quiet and slow in his move- 
ments ordinarily, but capable of giving a good account of 
himself in running and jumping and in such general football 
contests as, in the later fifties, were held on the campus. He 
was best known, however, as one of the ablest men in his 
class; as conquering easily and surely the subjects of the col- 



lege course. My recollection is quite distinct, that while he 
was known as a fine classical scholar, he was at his best in 
mathematics and related studies. He was graduated seventh 
in a class of about 90, took the Philosophical Oration, and 
left Princeton with the reputation that, had he chosen to do so, 
he might have obtained a still higher grade. That Halsey 
would study law every one took for granted ; for every one 
believed that he had the talents and temperament and char- 
acter that would make him an able counsellor." 



THE LAWYER, 



That such a prophecy was fulfilled in his career at the 
Bar, we have the testimony of his compeers to prove. 

In a biographical book of reference we are told that, ' ' he 
was a strong Republican, an able, learned lawyer and a man 
of rare business ability." (Judicial and Civil List of N.J. 
264.) 

In the resolutions passed by the Bar of Morris Co. on the 
announcement of his death, it is said, " That in the death of 
the late Edmund D. Halsey the Bar of Morris County has 
lost an able, learned and useful member, a genial associate 
and an amiable friend. 

" That as members of the Bar, we recall with keen mem- 
ory and deep feeling, the qualities and traits of Mr. Halsey, 
which made him respected and beloved by his professional as- 
sociates ; his interest in all his duties, his conscientious and 
faithful discharge of all engagements and trusts, his warm 
sympathy with his younger associates and his constant re- 
gard for the honor and welfare of his profession." 

That these sentiments were not merely perfunctory utter- 
ances of formal respect we learn from the spontaneous en- 
dorsement of them in the addresses by various members of 
the Bar before they were regularly adopted. 

One of these speaks of him as ' ' thoroughly honest ; faith- 
ful to his clients; and a hard worker, being always at work." 

Another bore emphatic testimony to his consideration for 
the poor both in a professional and business way. A third said 



11 

of him, "To those who best knew him, it was evident that 
he walked with God. His deeds were such as are actuated 
where the spirit of Christ dwells in the heart." 

A younger member of the bar gave expression to the 
gratitude he cherished for kindness and help received on dif- 
ferent occasions, as from the hands of a true friend. 

We are also told by another of his kindness and honesty : 
" I have always found him a trustworthy man. In all my 
business intercourse with Mr. Halsey, I never knew him to 
keep back any information, proper to reveal, from those who 
were legally opposed to him ; nor would he ever try to spring 
surprises or resort to any dishonorable trickery in his dealing 
with them. 

Says one, enjoying high honor on the bench, after speak- 
ing of the advantage to a lawyer of a character of sterling in- 
tegrity, " Mr. Halsey was an example of fidelity and honesty, 
and in that respect merits the imitation of all members of the 
Bar." He continues "Another quality I wish to refer to, 
which he had in an eminent degree, was a courageous ten- 
acity and firmness of purpose. Years ago he began to de- 
velope a weakness of the throat, the result, as I understand, 
of a naturally delicate constitution, aggravated by exposure 
while serving in the army in the late war. 

But when he felt this coming on he did not lie down and 
yield, and say, ' I am good for nothing.' He commenced a 
great fight and kept it up to the last — never discouraged, 
never giving in, but, as we know, at the last moment he was 
around among us working as usual, with apparent vigor and 
fixed purpose. Mr. Halsey was a worker and took pleasure 
in his work. He was not a book worm in the law. He early 
perceived that he was not able to distinguish himself as a 
barrister. His lungs and voice were not equal to that role. 

He was, however, a first class business man, and he 
naturally sought the kind of legal work to which he was 
suited." 

These tributes from those in the same profession, as dis- 
criminating as they are voluntary, prove that our friend was 
free from the narrowness and pettiness of professional and 
personal character, which would have made his death a loss 



12 

only to kindred or intimate friends. His native-born ability 
and unquestioned strength of resolution are recognized by 
those, his fellow experts in the law, whom no superficiality 
could deceive or partiality of friendship delude. 

Although Mr. Halsey's legal practice was mainly in 
the office, yet it was very extensive and responsible, and re- 
quired not only legal knowledge and skill of no common or- 
der, but also those resources of personal character with which 
he was so well endowed : to wit, knowledge of men, acquaint- 
ance with affairs and unswerving devotion to duty, with 
scrupulous exactness and precision in the care of complicated 
interests and the adjustment of conflicting claims. 

Says one, who was in a situation to know whereof he 
was affirming, ' ' I never knew of one complaint ever made 
concerning Mr. Halsey's care of any of the interests entrusted 
to his charge." 

His legal brethren appear to recognize the fact that but 
for circumstances beyond his power their late friend would 
have surely risen to the highest rank in his profession. This 
at any rate is an impression shared by all who had occasion 
to perceive his easy mastery of the difficult tasks he encount- 
ered not only in college but in life at large. 



THE HISTORIAN. 



One reason, at least, may be suggested why Mr. Halsey 
did not attain the very front rank in college and in his legal 
career. Nor was it that he loved to surpass less, but only that 
he loved literature more. From his earliest days, as we have 
seen, he was a lover of books. In such cases one soon be- 
comes an omnivorous reader with a most discursive taste. In 
Mr. Halsey's case his predilection was soon formed for anti- 
quarian research. This turn of mind was strengthened by 
the fervor of his patriotism. He could not seem to do enough 
for the founders of our government and for the perpetuation 
of the memory of those who so nobly emulated their example 
in the late war. He thus soon became the very highest au- 
thority upon the history of Revolutionary times, and especially 
as far as they had to do with his native county of Morris. 
His retentive memory and habits of exactness, with his liter- 
ary culture, made him an incomparable narrator of the glories 
of olden times. 

His love of truth and his mathematical precision led him 
to go through with an incalculable amount of wearisome 
drudgery in compiling records and copying data. And in col- 
lecting Jerseyana he combined the zeal of a recluse with the 
practical sagacity of a man of affairs. His orderly habits and 
indefatigable industry provided a place for everything and 
that everything should be in its place, of a most voluminous 
collection of clippings and scraps, pamphlets and monographs 
pertaining to his chosen field of research. 



14 

With all his continuous labor in his office and his home, 
in the law and historical investigation, he was always the 
man, orne hast ohne east, never flurried but always de- 
liberate, never procrastinating nor crowded into a corner but 
doing each task in its turn and with its full share of careful- 
ness and application. He always had time and yet was 
never idle. 

His work as a member of the Washington Association 
of New Jersey was a part of that most commendable enter- 
prise having its centre in the city of Morristown, which has 
provided such a beautiful and appropriate memorial of the 
Father of His Country. To be a member of a body whose 
enlightened patriotism, unstinted liberality, and exquisite 
taste have laid under obligation to them the whole of New 
Jersey, is an honor deserving of special mention. Mr. Hal- 
sey was secretary and afterwards treasurer of the society. 
He wrote its history, took great delight in its success and as 
much, if not more than any other, aided it by his thorough 
knowledge of all that pertained to its special sphere of histor- 
ical commemoration. 

While somewhat hindered by his delicate health from 
doing all that he would for the Historical Society of New Jer- 
sey, he was after all one of its most esteemed supporters. 
Within this circle of congenial associates he seems, if I may 
judge from the information I have received, to have exercised 
the same spell, by the gracious charm of his geniality, that 
he did elsewhere. Says one of these collaborators, "when I 
went to his funeral, on that dreary day at Rockaway, there 
came to me with great force the scripture saying, ' Lover 
and friend hast thou put far from me. ' His gentleness, his 
patient, untiring industry, under all difficulties, were a lesson 
to us all, while his sweet spirit in his long illness was an ex- 
ample few have the grace or the strength to follow. The 
world is better for such men. The good that they do lives 
after them. He was one of the lovliest men, one of the noblest 
characters I ever knew. No, he has not been put far from 
me. He has simply gone a little before, to the reward that 
awaits those that do their duty faithfully and uncomplaining- 
ly, to where the spirits of just men are made perfect. I have 



15 

never known a man of whom it could be more confidently 
said that he has surely received ' the crown of life' promised 
to those who have been faithful unto death." Surely such a 
tribute, not written for publication, by one not inexperienced 
in life nor unacquainted with men, is most striking. 

As a member of the committee of this (the N. J. Hist.) 
Society on Colonial and Revolutionary Documents, which has 
had charge of the publication of the New Jersey archives, he 
has contributed no small share to the glory of the association 
and its usefulness to the community at large. 

His business engagements and the necessity of husband- 
ing his strength appeared to prevent his becoming an author, 
yet when he chose he could wield the pen of a ready writer. 
As it was, he contributed not a little to the stores of historical 
knowledge belonging to his native county and state. 

He wrote the introductory and general part of the His- 
tory of Morris County; The Continental Army in Morris 
County in the year 1779-1780; The History of the Wash- 
ington Association; Rockaway Township in the War of 
the Rebellion, and other articles enumerated hereafter. IJe 
carried through the press, as well as largely compiled, The 
Halsey Genealogy. 



THE PATRIOT. 



His enlistment in the war, while in the midst of his stud- 
ies for the Bar, was no mere boyish impulse. The battle of 
Bull Run had been fought and the horrors of war had been 
brought closely home to the whole land. The delusion that 
the war would be of short duration had been rudely dissipat- 
ed. Stern reality had destroyed the romance with which this 
field of battle is always viewed by the young and enthusiastic. 

Young Edmund might have easily excused himself from 
taking up arms had patriotism not become a passion with him. 
The youngest and the only son at home at the time, he occupied 
a large place in the family circle and was especially looked to 
by his father for help in caring for the various business interests 
which were beginning to be a burden to him. But none of 
these things moved him. He cheerfully gave up the position 
of 2nd lieutenant in a regiment raised at his own home, in or- 
der to enlist as a private in another regiment which his father 
preferred him to join. 

When in camp his industry and application and careful- 
ness made him an invaluable helper in the adjutant's depart- 
ment. Within a year after his enlistment he was promoted 
twice and a month afterward a third time. His youth (twen- 
ty-four years of age), when he was called to serve as Judge 
Advocate of Courts Martial, is a proof of the early maturity 
of his powers and of his evidently natural bent toward the law. 
We can trace by means of his carefully-kept diaiy the succes- 
sion of trjdng experiences which he shared with his comrades. 



• 17 

The long marches in the choking dust, under a broiling sun, 
the exhausting tramps through mud and slush, the exposure 
to freezing cold, to hunger and thirst, weariness and painfull- 
ness of almost every kind, the cruel mistakes which cost so 
many lives, all these and many other trying experiences of the 
soldier's life were the things with which his daily record is 
filled, and yet in no solitary instance do we hear of heart or 
flesh failing him. No complainings or heartburnings, no wav- 
ering of purpose can be detected in the whole complete record 
of his own private life as a soldier. From beginning to end 
the same undaunted courage and high spirit are evident. 

We cannot help pitying the young recruit whose patriotic 
enthusiasm must find its vent by enduring the trying test of 
the everlasting reports of the adjutant's office. In the con- 
tinued illness of the principal the work devolved almost entire- 
ly upon his assistant, And how well he stood the test. The 
reports were always ready in time and as complete as they 
could be made. Sometimes the pen would be guided by fing- 
ers stiff with the cold, or in the glaring sun with no covering 
to mitigate its heat ; sometimes the work would be continued 
far into the night with an intensity of application that allowed 
the fire to go out and left the writer chilled to the marrow. 
"When at last he was freed from the irksome toil and was 
called to more important and pleasing employments, it was 
typical of the man that he should still return and not unfre- 
quently, to the old drudgery, simply in order that the reports 
should not fail of accuracy and completeness, and also that 
one younger and less experienced should be spared as much 
as possible. It did not take long for such energy and devo- 
tion to be appreciated, and it was as a first lieutenant that 
young Halsey took part with his regiment in some of the 
bloodiest battles of the civil war. 

The historian of the regiment says of him : 
" On the 12th of January, 1865, Edmund D. Halsey left 
the army. He had tendered his resignation, which, after 
several refusals, was accepted. He was the most indus- 
trious worker in the regiment. As Adjutant's Clerk, Ser- 
geant-Major, and Adjutant, his hands were always full. All 
the regimental books were kept by him in the neatest and 



18 

most orderly manner. The reports of the regiment and much 
of the brigade were kept by him. He had for many months 
been Division Judge- Advocate. By this appointment he 
might have claimed exemption from Adjutant's duty in his 
own regiment, but preferred to do double service rather than 
to have any confusion in his office papers, and a novice in 
charge of them for a time. Every official act and order of 
brigade and division headquarters pertaining to the Fifteenth 
New Jersey was associated with Halsey." 

We fortunately have a short account by Mr. Halsey of 
the history of the Fifteenth New Jersey, which would include 
of course his own war experience. It was written for and 
printed by the " Morris County Chronicle" in its issue of Sept. 
4, 1896. The occasion which called it forth, was the four- 
teenth reunion of the regiment which took place at Boonton, 
Sept. 3, 1896, these meetings being always of special interest 
to Adjutant Halsey. 

The quality of the service rendered by the regiment in its 
engagements, all of which the young soldier saw, and of 
which it was impossible for such as he to be a small part, is 
exactly described in the words of their colonel : 

' ' No regiment fought with more tenacious courage, or 
presented a more steady or unbroken front to the foe. Where 
the fire was hottest, the charge most impetuous, the resist- 
ance most stubborn, the carnage most fearful, it was found. 
It was never ordered to take a position that it did not reach 
it. It was never required to hold a post that it did not hold 
it. It never assaulted a line of the enemy that it did not 
drive it. It never charged a rebel work that it did not breach 
it. Whatever might be the general result, the Fifteenth 
New Jersey always performed the part assigned it." 

These characteristics of the regiment were those of the 
subject of our sketch, and we cannot doubt that his personal 
force had a large share in the combined movement. 



THE MAN. 



What now is to be said of the man himself ? Is it all 
told when we have treated of his words and actions ? Can 
any man be greater than his work ? Yea, every great man 
must be, and any true man is. Indeed the evidences of a re- 
serve force, "the hidings of power," are found in the lives 
of all to whom their fellow-men would willingly give heed. 

But we have not yet exhausted the outer life of the subject 
of our sketch. Into his life in the home, where more was 
received from him and given to him, than belongs to the lot 
of many, even the most fortunate of men, we cannot intrude. 
Of his gentleness and patience, his genial affection and quiet 
humor, his refined culture and intelligent piety, as there dis- 
played, there is more than sufficient illustration, which can 
only be alluded to here. 

If "reading maketh a full man," as Bacon expresses it, 
then our friend's mind was more completely occupied than 
most men's, especially if they are men of affairs. Not only 
in his early youth and in the choice companionship of his 
alma mater, but even on " the tented field " he could not let 
books alone. This taste was inherited, and grew with his 
growth. His habit of collecting clippings, which were al- 
ways neatly arranged and preserved in scrap-books, showed 
the carefulness with which he gathered knowledge and the 
ready command which he had of all that he had gathered. 
His preference, as we might expect, was for historical re- 
search, but his taste was most catholic, and no branch of lit- 
erature failed to interest him. 



20 

He loved books, and had the instincts of a born collector. 
His accumulations, especially of Jersey-ana, to which we 
have already referred, have been increasing for years and 
are most voluminous. 

But not even this, in itself, most commendable taste was 
permitted to usurp an undue proportion of his time and atten- 
tion. Circumstances threw into his hands a great deal of 
business connected with real estate and the settlement of 
estates. He also became known and trusted as an authority 
in finance. Thus the banking business made demands upon 
his time. He also from his earliest days had had his atten- 
tion directed to the history of localities and families, and he 
became a most industrious genealogist. And yet no one of 
all these various lines of activity was suffered to interfere 
with another or to modify the devotion and application with 
which he carried on every task that he undertook. With 
much that appealed to his imagination he never failed in the 
exercise of the practical sagacity which belongs, as is sup- 
posed, exclusively to the business man. 

In whatever direction he turned his mind he could ap- 
ply himself without reserve. It might safely be claimed that 
he never unnecessarily put off a duty or slighted one, that 
he undertook. Whether it was laying out the bounds of a 
plot of land as a practical surveyor, or fixing the time and 
place of an historical event, or connecting the links of a fam- 
ily, or getting up the points of a case at law, or mending a 
toy for a child, he was always a workman that needed 
not to be ashamed. He certainly had one characteristic of 
genius — that of taking pains. 

This exactness of workmanship was partly due, no 
doubt, to an inherited industry. Like his father before him, 
he loved work. But a strong sense of duty, in the form of a 
scrupulous conscientiousness, also a family trait, but not so 
easily inherited, was a marked characteristic of our friend. 

A sense of responsibility for all the details of life and 
character, a continual regard for the all-pervading claims of 
truth and right, were no less marked in him than in the an- 
cient artist who finished with all care the part of his statues 



21 

toward the wall, because if men did not, yet the Gods did 
see them. 

Thus practical and thorough, likewise, was his religious 
character. In his early home he breathed an atmosphere of 
fervent piety and yet not of an ascetic type. 

And so in his own case he claimed the right, which no 
one can dispute, of using the strong meat of sound doctrine. 
He was a Bible Christian, and what the Bible did not con- 
demn, he would not. But where the command was clear, 
his obedience was implicit. He had no sympathy with any 
lax regard for the Sabbath, and he was never a silent or in- 
active member of the church. As teacher or superintendent 
in the Sabbath school or trustee of the church, he was always 
found when wanted, and was never a slothful servant. 

Although often invited to become an elder, he never con- 
sented, and, while we may regret this decision, yet we can- 
not fail to do justice to the motives that prompted it. His 
place in the prayer meeting was always filled until failing 
health prevented his further attendance. 

He made a public profession of his faith in Christ while 
his regiment was at Brandy Station in April, 1864. In ref- 
erence to this step he makes the following record in his 
diary : 

' ' There has been quite a religious feeling throughout the 
regiment and, as you may say, throughout the army, of late. 
Next Sunday, Alanson (i. e., Rev. Alanson Haines, the chap- 
lain and a relative), proposes to hold communion and to re- 
ceive some ten or fifteen into the church. Providence per- 
mitting, I will be among the number, yielding to what I feel 
to be my duty, and hoping that such a step may add to my 
happiness here and hereafter. I deeply regret not having 
done it before." 

It is interesting to note that, as he remarks in his record, 
he had read through the New Testament during the first win- 
ter he spent in the army. 

Though possessing the gift of humor, so that he was 
called the wit of the Assembly when a member of that body, 
he never seemed even tempted to indulge in any brilliant sal- 
lies at the expense of kindly feeling or personal purity and 



22 

refinemeDt. He was also remarkably free from any trace 
of pretense or egotism. Even his chronic invalidism failed to 
make him self-absorbed and unsympathetic. Indeed he 
seemed thereby to become even more thoughtful of others and 
ready to enter into their experiences. And it was this friend- 
liness, this brotherly-loving kindness, which makes his loss 
to some of us so grievous and personal. 

"I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan; very 
pleasant hast thou been unto me : thy love to me was won- 
derful, passing the love of women. How are the mighty 
fallen and the weapons of war perished." 

But the paths of God are in the sea, and impenetrable 
mystery shrouds all his providences. The old and infirm are 
spared and the young and vigorous taken away, and so the 
life so prized by us, at last was brought to a close. 

Although he had been so long an invalid, his death came 
as a surprise. Not feeling well during the early part of the 
week, he did not go to Morristown until Thursday morning. 
He, however, returned home very soon. On Saturday morn- 
ing, Oct. 17th, 1896, he quietly fell asleep, pleurisy being the 
immediate cause of his death. His remains were buried in 
the family plot in the cemetery at Rockaway, New Jersey. 

And thus came to an end a life whose motto might most 
appropriately have been : 

"IchDien," " I serve." 

For whether we consider the army, of which he was so 
brilliant a soldier; the profession, to which he so was well 
adapted, the recreations, historical and genealogical, in which 
his attainments were so often made use of by others, or the 
Church, whose ministry he particularly cherished and whose 
services he always honored, we never find wanting in his 
case the two guiding stars of a great life, a rigid sense of 
duty and an eager desire to be useful. 

In this point of view we can safely conclude that his life 
work was not only a blessing but a triumphant success. 

And in the world to come, he cannot fail of recognition 
by Him who came not to be ministered unto, but to minister ; 
and who said, " If any man desire to be first, the same shall 
be servant of all." 



Published Articles of Edmund Drake Halsey, 



1. The History of Morris County, containing Morris 
County in the Revolution, the War of 1812, and the Rebel- 
lion, and also the History of the Iron Industry in the County. 
In "History of Morris County," 1882. 

2. "A Biographical Sketch of Col. Joseph Jackson, of 
Rockaway, N. J." For private distribution, 1883, in connec- 
tion with Jos. J. Halsey. 

3. " The Continental Army in Morris County in the 
Years 1779-80." An article read before the Washington As- 
sociation, Feb. 22, 1889. 

4. " Some of the Prominent Ministers of Morris County." 
An article in the Jubilee Number of the Banner, Morris- 
town, 1889. 

5. " Memoir of Rev. James Olney Averill," containing 
a biographical sketch, a funeral address and four sermons, 
1887. 

6. " History of The Washington Association," Morris- 
town, 1891. 

7. " Rockaway Township in the War of the Rebellion." 
An address delivered at the dedication of the Soldiers' Monu- 
ment at Rockaway, May 30, 18y2. 

8. " Biographical Sketch of Samuel Beach Halsey of 
Rockaway, N. J." Printed for private distribution, 1893. 

9. " The Gallant Fifteenth." Part of an article so nam- 
ed in the Morris County Chronicle, Boonton, Sept. 4, 1896. 

10. " Mahlon Dickerson." An article published in the 
Magazine of the New England Geneal. Soc. 



24 

11. "A Biographical Sketch of Henry G. Darcy." An 
article prepared for the New Jersey Hist. Soc. 

12. "A manuscript article, without title, upon the Ma- 
sons in the Revolution." 

As co-editor with Mr. Wm. Ogden Wheeler, the follow- 
ing were published by him : — 

13. " Inscriptions upon the Tombstones and Monuments 
in the Burying Grounds of the First Presbyterian Church 
and St. John's Church at Elizabeth, N. J., 1892. 

14. " Church Members, Marriages and Baptisms at 
Hanover, Morris Co., 1ST. J., during the pastorate of Rev. 
Jacob Green and to the settlement of Rev. Aaron Condict, 
(1746-1796." Sept. 14, 1893. 

15. " Inscriptions on the Tombstones and Monuments at 
Whippany and Hanover, Morris County, New Jersey." 
March 1, 1894. 

He was one of the three editors who published " Thomas 
Halsey and His Descendants in America." Morristown, 
N. J., 1895. Upon him fell the burden of seeing this 
work through the press, besides the compilation of a large 
part of it. He assisted very considerably in the preparation 
of the " History of the Fifteenth New Jersey Volunteers" 
by Rev. Alanson A. Haines, 1883. He contributed inform- 
ation to "Swank's Iron in All ages;" contributed much his- 
torical knowledge to the " Society of the Cincinnati" and to 
the "Sons of the American Revolution;" contributed the 
manuscript of Col. Aaron Ogden's Autobiography, published 
in Proceedings of N. J. Hist. Soc, and as an active and use- 
ful member of the ' ' Committee on Colonial and Revolution- 
ary Documents" of N. J. Hist. Soc, had much to do with the 
publication of the Archives of New Jersey. 



APPENDIX, 



The Morris County Bar. 

More than twenty members of the bar of Morris County 
gathered in the Court room at the opening of court on Tues- 
day morning, in response to an invitation issued by Messrs. 
H. C. Pitney, Alfred Mills and J. B. Vreeland to do honor to 
the memory of the deceased. 

After some preliminary business had been disposed of, 
Alfred Mills announced the death of Mr. Halsey and moved 
that the Court adjourn, that suitable action might be taken by 
the members of the bar present. Judge Cutler immediately 
ordered the adjournment, and Vice Chancellor Pitney was 
elected chairman of the meeting ; Guy Minton, Esq., secre- 
tary, and Elmer King, ass't secretary and stenographer. 

Mr. Alfred Mills then spoke as follows : — 

" Mr. Halsey was born and always resided in Rockaway, 
Morris County, in the same house where his father, Samuel 
B. Halsey, Esq., lived and died. He was licensed in 1865 
and had an office and practiced law at Morristown. At one 
time was in partnership with his brother, Samuel S. Halsey, 
who was for some years the Mayor of Morristown. Shortly 
after the breaking out of the late civil war he volunteered 
and went to the war as a member of one of the N. J. Regi- 
ments. In 1875-1876 he was a member of the legislative 
house of Assembl}* of this State. 

" After the death of Mr. H. O. Marsh, Mr. Halsey was 
made President of the National Iron Bank of this place, and 



26 

was such officer at the time of his death. He was also a 
member and an officer of Historical and Charitable Societies. 

" Mr. Halsey had many admirable qualities. He was 
thoroughly honest. He was faithful to his clients. He was 
a hard worker, being always at work. It may be, that, like 
many others of us, he worked too incessantly. We must re- 
member that if we lift up our heads oftener from our work, 
we may see the flashes of humor, pathos and fancy that are 
always lighting up and playing around the incidents of daily 
life, and which, if one gets in the habit of looking for them, 
are a great comfort and relief in the drudgery of daily routine. 

" Mr. Halsey did not often go into the Court room. He 
spent his time mainly in his office. He looked after the man- 
agement of estates. 

4 ' He had won the confidence and esteem of the public. It 
is a great thing for any community to have in its midst men 
who have been tried (as only time can try them) and been 
found faithful and reliable. There is but one test of tbe mor- 
al and intellectual fibre of a man that other men recognize as 
humanly absolute, and that is the test of time, when one is in 
the midst of the active duties and the ordinary temptations of 
professional and business life. Mr. Halsey was successfully 
tried by this test, and like every other man who has been able 
to stand it, he was an honor to the community in which he 
lived. The influence of such a man is conservative. What- 
ever the craze of the hour may be, he is not likely to be car- 
ried away by it. He holds fast to the old lines of safety, and 
indirectly as well as directly helps to keep others within the 
same lines. His example and his daily life influence others, 
unconsciously to himself, and when death removes him, it is 
a public loss, as well as a loss to members of his profession. 

" I move, Mr. Chairman, that a committee of three be 
appointed by you to prepare and report to this meeting suitable 
resolutions." 

The motion was carried and Messrs. Alfred Mills, Ford 
D. Smith and Judge Cutler were appointed as such com- 
mittee. 

John Stickle, Esq., said he had known Mr. Halsey dur- 
ing almost the whole of his life. They resided in the same 



27 

town and he could testif3 r that the deceased was a pleasant, 
genial, neighborly and friendly man. He was a very charit- 
able nature, and many a time families unable to pay have re- 
sided in his houses without cost. 

The committee presented the following resolutions : — 

" Resolved, That in the death of the late Edmund D. 
Halsey the Bar of Morris County has lost an able, learned 
and useful member, a genial associate and an amiable friend. 
That, as members of this Bar, we recall with keen memory 
and deep feeling, the qualities and traits of Mr. Halsey, 
which made him respected and beloved by his professional 
associates ; his interest in all his duties, his conscientious and 
faithful discharge of all engagements and trusts, his warm 
sympathy with his younger associates and his constant re- 
gard for the honor and welfare of his profession. 

"Resolved, That we will attend, in a body, the funeral 
services of our deceased brother, which are to be held this 
afternoon at his late residence in Rockaway. 

" Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be sent to 
the family of the deceased, and that Judge Willard W. Cut- 
ler be requested to present them at the next meeting of the 
Morris Circuit Court and request that they be spread upon 
the minutes of that Court." 

Judge Cutler spoke of the kindness shown to young law- 
yers by the deceased, and to him personally. He said that 
his accounts, as executor, when presented to the court were 
always accurate and thorough. 

Guy Minton, Esq. , also spoke of the virtues of the de- 
ceased and likened him to Enoch who "walked with God, 
and he was not; for God took him." The deceased walked 
with God, because his deeds were such as the spirit of Christ 
actuates in the human life. 

Senator Yreeland testified to his friendship and kindness, 
and said he would always cherish his memory as the memory 
of a true and tried friend. 

J. H. Neighbour, Esq., said he was obliging and willing 
to reveal all he knew about the cases that came to him, and 
was not the man to surprise legal opponents by any surprising 



28 

or tricky tactics. Whatever he said, you realized that it 
was the truth and the whole truth. 

H. C. Pitney, Jr., Esq., referred to his interests outside 
of the profession of law, to his membership in the G. A. P., 
charitable institutions, and the Washington Association, of 
which he was treasurer for many years. 

Vice- Chancellor Pitney said he could not put the ques- 
tion on the resolutions without adding his tribute to the worth 
of the deceased. He said a law3 7 er should be the most hon- 
est man in town, and it is easy for them to be that because of 
the education of conscience they receive through continually 
hearing both sides of questions. Honesty is an attribute that 
cannot be taken away, and E. D. Halsey was a possessor of 
that quality. Another quality he possessed was tenacity, 
shown in his long fight with disease, begun when his lungs 
were affected in the army and continued until his death. He 
was a worker and took pleasure in his work. He was not a 
barrister, but a first-class business man. He had literary 
tastes, particularly of the historical and antiquarian order, 
and has done something to perpetuate the memory of many 
men who would have been overlooked but for his industry. 

The resolutions presented by the committee were unani- 
mously adopted, and Judge Cutler was appointed a commit- 
tee to present the resolutions at the first meeting of the Cir- 
cuit Court and ask that they be inserted in the minutes. — 
The Jersey man. 



The Morris County Children's Home. 

At a meeting of the Board of Directors of The Morris 
County Children's Home, held at Morristown, New Jersey, 
October 20th, 189 G, the following minute was adopted and 
ordered to be spread upon the records of the Home : 

Minute. 

" It is with deep sense of serious loss, that the Board of 
Directors of the Morris County Children's Home meet to take 
action on the death of Edmund D. Halsey, who passed to his 
reward on Saturday, Oct. 17th, 1896. 



29 

1 c Mr. Halsey was one of the signers of the certificate of 
incorporation of the Home, in 1881, and has served continu- 
ously as one of its Directors since that time. 

" He has also acted as its Treasurer for the last ten 
years. During the long period, from the organization of this 
Charity, until his death, his services have been invaluable. 

' ' Wise in his counsels, conservative in his views, cordial 
in his intercourse with his fellow directors, we shall miss him 
greatly, but it will be our proud privilege to always remem- 
ber our late associate, as fulfilling all the requirements that 
go to make up the useful Christian gentleman. 

"John Edward Taylor, 

"Secretary." 



Washington Association of N. J. 

" Headquarters," 

Morristown, N. J., Oct. 21, 1886. 

" Resolved, That in the removal from this life of our 
late Treasurer, Trustee and associate, Mr. Edmund D. Hal- 
sey, this Board and the Washington Association of New 
Jersey at large, have sustained a very great loss. 

" Mr. Halsey was, in the noblest and best sense of the 
term, an ' all around man' ; a man of affairs, wise, sagacious, 
honorable and faithful in all trusts, public and private ; a 
devoted student of history, taking a deep interest in the past, 
especially of that relating to his own country. 

" His life and character were so transparent to all who 
knew him that no eulogy of his genial qualities and sterling 
worth is required at our hands. 

''Resolved, That this feeble tribute to the memory of 
our dear and esteemed friend be recorded upon the minutes, 
and a copy of the same be sent to his family, with the ex- 
pression of our heart-felt sympathy for them, in their great 
sorrow and loss. 

" By order of the Board of Trustees, 

"Henry C. Pitney, Jr., 

"Secretary." 



30 
Morris County Savings Bank. 

" The Board of Managers of The Morris County Savings 
Bank, desiring to express their deep sense of the loss they have 
incurred by the death of the late Edmund D. Halsey, and 
their appreciation of his character and services, direct this 
minute to be entered upon their records : 

"Mr. Halsey was a member of this Board for many 
years. He brought to the service of the institution the 
trained business and legal ability and wide knowledge of af- 
fairs, for which he had been long distinguished. 

" He performed the duties assigned to him with the 
faithful care which strongly marked his character. 

' ' His counsel was always sought in questions of moment 
and his wisdom and experience were of the highest value in 
determining the decisions of this Board. 

" His high reputation and extended acquaintance were a 
source of strength to our institution. 

" By his decease the members of this Board have lost a 
valued and esteemed friend, whose memory will be long 
cherished among us and in the community which he faith- 
fully served both in public and private station." 



National Iron Bank. 

At a meeting of the Board of Directors of the National 
Iron Bank, Morristown, N. J., held October 30th, 1896, the 
following minute was adopted : 

" Besolved, That in the death of the late Edmund D. 
Halse3 T , this Bank has met with a most serious loss. For 
many years one of its Board of Directors, and for the last 
two years of his life its President, he brought to the manage- 
ment of its affairs great discrimination, signal ability, and a 
wise conservatism. Cordial with his associates in the man- 
agement of the Bank, affable to its customers, and guided at 
all times for the best interests of his charge, his death has 
caused a void difficult to be filled. 



31 

" Resolved, That these resolutions be entered in full 
upon its Book of Minutes, and a copy be sent to his family. 

''Attest: 

" John B. Byram, 

"Secretary;' 



Loyal Legion. 
Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. 

Headquarters Commandery of the State of New York, 
140 Nassau Street. 

New York, January 15th, 1897. 

At a stated meeting of this Commandery, held at Del- 
monico's, corner of Fifth Avenue and Twenty-sixth Street, 
the following was adopted as the report of the Committee ap- 
pointed to draft resolutions relative to Companion First Lieu- 
tenant Edmund Drake Halsey, Adjutant 15th New Jersey 
Infantry (Insignia No. 10,163), who died at Rockaway, N. 
J., Oct. 17th, 1896, aged 56 years. 

Report. 

"Edmund Drake Halsey was born at Rockaway, N. 
J., September 11th, 1840, and died at Rockaway, October 
17th, 1896. 

" His preparatory education was received at the old Mor- 
ris Academy at Morristown, and at Phillips Academy, An- 
dover, Mass. He entered the Sophomore Class at Princeton 
and graduated with honors in 1860. 

' ' He became a practical Surveyor and studied law in the 
office of his brother, Samuel S. Halsey, at Morristown, N. J. 

" On August 25th, 1862, he was enrolled as private, Co. 
K, 15th N. J. V. Infantry, and was made Sergeant Major, 
January 15th, 1863. 

" On June 19th, 1863, he was commissioned Second 
Lieutenant Co. F. On August 13th, First Lieutenant, and 
March 28th, 1864, he was commissioned First Lieutenant 
and Adjutant. 

"He was compelled by ill health to resign December 
31st, 1864, and was honorably discharged from the service. 



32 

" His regiment was attached to the First Brigade, First 
Division, Sixth Corps, Army of the Potomac. 

" He participated with it in the following campaigns and 
engagements : — 

"Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Mine Run, Wilderness 
Campaigns and operations in front of Petersburg. 

"After his return he resumed the study of Law and was 
made Attorney in 1865 and Counsellor in 1869. He contin- 
ued in the active work of his profession until his death, and 
was widely known throughout the County and State as a 
most valuable Counsellor, and as a man whose probity was 
never questioned. 

' ' For these reasons many estates were placed in his 
hands as executor. 

' ' He was not only a good lawyer and a man of rare busi- 
ness ability, but he was a thorough student of local history 
and genealogy, and was an authority in this section of New 
Jersey on these subjects, and had published many pamphlets 
relating to historical matters in Morris and adjoining Counties. 

" He was also a co-author with Chaplain Haines of " The 
History of the Fifteenth Regiment of New Jersey Volunteers," 
one of the most complete regimental histories ever published. 

" He was a member of the ' House of Assembly' of New 
Jersey in 1875-76, and for seventeen years a member of the 
Township Committee of Rockaway Township. 

" For many years he was a director of the National Iron 
Bank, of Morristown, and at the time of his death its presi- 
dent. He was also a director in many other corporations and 
institutions. 

"He was the first secretary, and afterward, until his 
death, treasurer, of the Washington Association, of New Jer- 
sey. He was also one of the original incorporators of the 
Morris County Children's Home. 

" On May 27, 1869, he was married to Mary Halsey 
Darcy, of Newark, who survives him, with his children, Ed- 
mund D. Halsey, Jr., who graduated from Princeton in 1894, 



33 

and Cornelia Van Wyck Halsey, now a student at Bryn 
Mawr College. 

" In both his military and civil career, Companion Hal- 
sey's life was ever marked by faithful, honest, thorough work 
combined with wisdom, tact and kindliness of heart. With 
him nothing was ever slurred, nothing ever done for show or 
sham. He won for himself a most enviable reputation as a 
public-spirited citizen and as a gentleman in the truest sense 
of the word. Of him it can most honestly be said that his 
death was a great loss. 

" Resolved, That this Commandery tender to his widow 
and children its sincere sympathy. 

'''Resolved, That this report be entered upon the min- 
utes in the usual manner, and that copies be sent to his widow 
and children. 

" Henry M. Dalrymple, 

Brevet Major, U. S. V. 
" Stephen Pierson, 

Brevet Major, U. S. V. ^Committee." 
" Henry W. Miller, 

Lieutenant- Commander, 

lateU. S. N.J 

" By order of 

Brevet Brigadier-General Horace Porter, 

Late U. S. Army, Commander. 
"A. Noel Blakeman, 
Acting Assistant Paymaster, late U. S. Navy, 

Recorder." 



Trustees of the Rockaway Pres. Church. 

Resolutions of the Board of Trustees of the Rockaway 
Presbyterian Church, October 30, 1896, in regard to the 
death of the Hon. Edmund D. Halsey : 
"Whereas, In the Providence of God, Mr. Edmund D. 

Halsey, a member of this Board, has been removed from 

us by death on the 17th inst. ; 

" Resolved, That in his death we recognize and bow in 



LofC. 



34 

sorrow to the will of God, feeling that in him this community 
has lost a useful citizen, and this church a consistent and de- 
voted member ; that the Board of Trustees of which he was 
a member for 29 years, put upon record their testimonial to 
his fidelity, zeal, and Christian manliness, and the high es- 
teem in which they held him as a fellow-citizen and a Chris- 
tian gentleman. 

"Resolved, That these testimonials be put in the hands 
of his bereaved family, and that we tender our Christian 
sympathy and love." 



GENEALOGY, 



I. 

Thomas Halsey, son of Robert Halsey, (d. 1618), of 
Great Gaddesden, Hertfordshire, England, and his wife, 
Dorothy, dau. of William Downes, and grandson of William 
Halsey, (d. 1596), of " The Parsonage, " and Elizabeth Lodge, 
his wife was a Mercer, of London; living in Naples, 1621 ; at 
Lynn, Mass., 1637; was one of the original settlers of South- 
hampton, L. I., 1610; delegate to General Court at Hartford, 
1664; died Aug. 27, 1678; will in New York S. 0. Book A, 
pg. 167. He left four children, Thomas, Isaac, Daniel and 
Elizabeth Howell. 

II. 

Thomas Halsey, son of Thomas the pilgrim, born pro- 
bably about 1627. First mentioned at Southampton, L. I., 
1641, and died there before 1698. His will is dated Aug. 3, 
1688, wife Mary died Dec. 20, 1 699. They had twelve child- 
ren, viz: Mary, b. Aug. 29, 1654; Elizabeth b. Oct. 15, 1655; 
Josiah, b. Feb. 15, 1656-7; Sarah, b. Oct. 29, 1658; Issac, b. 
Aug. 29, 1660; David, b. April 12, 1663; Hannah, b. Feb. 
5, 1665; Jeremiah, b. Sep. 7, 1667; Jonathan, b. Dec. 22, 
1669; Phebe, b. Dec. 29, 1671; Abigail, b. April 19, 1673; 
Nathaniel, b. June 1, 1675. 

III. 

Nathaniel Halsey, b. 1675; m. Anna, dau. of Josiah 
Stanborough. Lived at Southampton, L. I. His will dated 
March 27, 1745, was proved April 18, 1746. He had ten 
children: Elishai, b. Sep. 3, 1699; Recompense, b. Aug. 19, 
1700; Ezekiel, b. Nov. 12, 1703; Ananias, b. Jan. 10, 1705-6; 



36 

Anna b. July 29, 1707; Eunice, b. March 31, 1709; Deborah, 
b. Oct. 7, 1710; Nathaniel b. Dec. 15, 1713; Phebe, b. May 
31, 1714; and Moses July 12, 1716. 

IV. 

Recompense Halsey, b. 1700, (named for his uncle Re- 
compense Stanborough), moved from Long Island to New 
Jersey, first to Scotch Plains, and then to Hanover, Morris 
Oounty, where he died 1771. Will dated March 23, 1770-71 ; 
proved May 3, 1777. Wife's name Hannah. Had children: 
William, Ananias, Joel, Elihu, Ruth, (b. 1722, m. Silas 
Howell), Elizabeth, (b. Jan. 8, 1744, m. Lindly Burnet), 
Hannah, (m. 1774 Willam Baylis), Rebecca, (b. 1730, m. 
Ephraim Stiles). 

V. 

Elihu Halsey, b. about 1742, m. April 28, 1763; Eliza- 
beth, dau. of Capt. William Ely. He died at Hanover, Nov. 
29, 1770. They had children: Abraham, b. Feb. 19, 1764; 
Isaac, b. Aug. 31, 1765; Jacob, b. July 8, 1767, and Eliza- 
beth, b. Jan. 15, 1771, (m. Samuel Robinson). 

VI. 

Dr. Abraham Halsey, b. 1764; m. Oct. 20, 1791, Nancy, 
dau. of Capt. Enoch Beach, who was born July 19, 1767, and 
died Oct. 10, 1805. He removed from Morris County, N. J., 
to Hopewell, Dutchess County, N. Y., about 1791, and died 
there May 7, 1822. Their children were: William Ely, b 
July 26, 1792, d. Aug. 3, 1793; Susan Day, b. July 3, 1794, 
m. William Jackson, Sept. 11, 1811, d. June 26, 1868; Sam- 
uel Beach, b. July 24, 1796; Abraham, b. Oct. 8, 1798, d. 
March 17, 1852; Silas Dickerson, b. Nov. 22, 1801, d. Feb. 17, 
1881, Electa Dickerson, b. Sept. 12, 1804, d. Sept. 22, 1806. 

VII. 
Samuel Beach Halsey, the father of the subject of this 
sketch, b. July 24, 1796, m. Sept. 5, 1821, Sarah Dubois, on- 
ly dau. of Col. Joseph Jackson and Elizabeth Piatt Ogden, b. 
June 2, 1803, d. Jan. 20, 1859. He removed from Hopewell, 
Dutchess Co., N. Y., to Rockaway, N. J., in 1834, and died 
there Sept. 15, 1871. 



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